PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA signed a five-year agreement with Standard Aero for 531 new PT6A series engines under P&WC's Converter Enhancement Program. Standard Aero of Winnipeg, Manitoba, will use the engines for various turboprop aircraft upgrade programs under Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs).
HONEYWELL forecasters predict a relatively weak rate of increase in the Gross Domestic Product in the U.S. and western Europe over the next several years, but say rapidly expanding economies in the rest of the world will help keep demand for new business jets growing. See chart below.
THE WRECKAGE of a Beechcraft King Air C90A, N590GM, operated by Blanding, Utah- based Eagle Air Med, was discovered Friday in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. The aircraft, carrying three crew members, departed Chinle, Ariz. Oct. 4 to pick up a patient in Alamosa, Colo. Radar and radio contact with the aircraft was lost at about 11:22 p.m. Thursday.
DayJet formally launched its long-advertised per-seat, on-demand jet service between five Florida "DayPort" airports. Using a fleet of Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets, DayJet opened its reservation system to some 1,500 registered members. The company won clearance to begin operations with the Eclipses last month and subsequently offered only a few flights to a limited number of passengers while it prepared for a formal launch (BA, Sept. 10/105).
ELLIOTT AVIATION selected Air BP to provide fuel and support services for the fixed-base operation chain's facilities in Moline, Ill., Des Moines, Iowa, Minneapolis, Minn. and Omaha, Neb. Air BP will supply fuel and provide training, marketing, transactions processing and business building programs and services.
ELLIOTT AVIATION'S EXPANSION continued in September as the Midwestern FBO chain broke ground on a new $8 million facility at its Des Moines, Iowa International Airport (DSM) location. The new facility will include an 8,500-square-foot FBO and three 15,000-square-foot hangars, each with an additional 3,000 square-feet of office space. In June, Elliott began a $2.5 million renovation of its FBO at Omaha's Eppley Airfield (OMA) and opened the doors on a new design center at its headquarters at the Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) in Moline, Ill.
MOONEY AIRPLANE COMPANY is incorporating a series of aerodynamic refinements to its Acclaim single-piston aircraft that will boost the top speed to 242 knots. The company redesignated the aircraft the Acclaim-Type S. Powered by a 280-horsepower Teledyne Continental Motors IO 550-G engine, the aircraft originally had a maximum speed of 237 knots when certified in December 2006. Mooney expects to begin deliveries of the Type S model in the first quarter of 2008. The aircraft will be priced at $599,500.
Airlines, airports, FAA and the Department of Transportation must work together to reduce long onboard delays and minimize their effect on passengers, says a new report from the DOT's Inspector General.
Cessna Aircraft Company signed a letter of intent to acquire most assets of Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. - including the type certificate for the Columbia 350/400 line of composite construction single-engine airplanes - and plans to position those models at the top of Cessna's existing line of single-engine aircraft, officials said last week (BA, Sept. 24/127).
JET SOURCE added four more aircraft to its charter fleet - a Westwind II, two Hawker 800As and a Hawker 400-731. The aircraft will be based at Jet Source's headquarters at the McClellan-Palomar Airport (CRQ) in Carlsbad, Calif. Jet Source, which was founded 10 years ago, manages a fleet of aircraft that ranges from Beechcraft King Airs to Gulfstreams. Jet Source also provides maintenance, avionics, ramp service fuel sales and other aircraft services from its Carlsbad facilities that include more than 120,000 square feet of hangar space.
THE HOUSE and Senate last week each approved a short-term funding bill that would keep most of the federal government - including the Federal Aviation Administration - operating until Nov. 16 under current fiscal 2007 funding levels. The "continuing resolution" would provide Congress additional time to complete work on fiscal 2008 appropriations bills.
Piper Aircraft selected Garmin International to develop an avionics suite for the new single-engine PiperJet, the companies announced during last week's NBAA annual meeting and convention in Atlanta, Ga. Garmin will provide a cockpit with two primary flight displays that will interface with Garmin's Attitude and Heading Reference System and a multifunction display that will include engine performance and situational data such as location, terrain, traffic, weather and airport information. Garmin also will supply its Automatic Flight Control System three-axis autopilot.
PREMIER AIRCRAFT, LLC is working with Safe Flight Instrument Corporation to certify Safe Flight's AutoPower automatic throttle systems on Falcon 50 and CitationJet series business jets. The system is designed to increase situational awareness, reduce crew workload and provide accurate speed control and engine target setting. The system, certified on more than 40 aircraft types and installed on more than 9,000 civil and military aircraft, is offered on the Gulfstream G200, and Bombardier Challenger 604, 605, 850 and CRJ 200.
THE MOOD at last week's NBAA convention in Atlanta was extremely upbeat, with OEMs continuing to report very strong order intake for new business aircraft. Dassault Falcon President John Rosanvallon characterized the current market as "fairly unusual, if not incredible." The health of business aviation sales has been closely linked to the state of the U.S. economy for decades, but strong growth in international sales is boosting confidence that the business aviation market may be less cyclical than it used to be.
ARINC DIRECT introduced two new services at last week's NBAA show. The transportation communications and systems engineering company now is offering wireless mobile flight planning.
Following "a great deal of negotiation" with Taiwanese investors who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars attempting to get the Sino Swearingen SJ-30 business jet certificated and into production, a new group of investors says it reached a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in the San Antonio, Texas-based aircraft manufacturing enterprise.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORPORATION appointed Fargo Jet Center, Inc., in Fargo, N.D. an authorized service center for Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron and King Air products. Based at Hector International Airport (FAR), Fargo Jet Center provides a range of aircraft support services from facilities that encompass more than 200,000 total square feet. The company is an authorized sales/service center for Rockwell Collins, Honeywell, Garmin, Bendix/King, Avidyne and S-Tec.
Artouste III B, Artouste III B1, and Artouste III D turboshaft engines [Docket No. FAA-2006-23594; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-54-AD; Amendment 39-15202; AD 2007-19-11] - Remove from service certain fuel pumps that may be installed on U.S.-registered Eurocopter France Alouette III SE.3160, SA.316B, SA.315B and SA.316C helicopters and install serviceable fuel pumps. The FAA issued this directive, which supersedes AD 2005-04-15, to prevent reduced engine fuel flow and subsequent aircraft loss of control or an accident. The new AD is effective October 9.
Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29257; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-144-AD] - This proposed rule would require operators to conduct repetitive inspections for cracks in the left-side and right-side frame and reinforcement angles at Fuselage Station 640 between Stringer 9 and Stringer 12 and, if needed, corrective actions as specified in Bombardier Alert Service Bulletin 601R-53-061, Revision E (dated December 7, 2006).
Dassault Chairman Charles Edelstenne said the French manufacturer is developing a new Super Mid-Size business jet that will incorporate many of the technologies used in the company's top-of-the-line 7X business jet.
XOJET, a relatively new provider of on-demand charter and aircraft ownership services based in Northern California, outlined aggressive growth plans last week with orders and options for up to 110 new Bombardier and Citation business jets valued at $2.5 billion. The order announcements came as XOJET closed on two separate financing packages valued at $363 million.
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, in the midst of an unprecedented spool-up of an entire line of business jets, unveiled the details of two new aircraft models last week. Officials took pains to emphasize that the new Midsize Jet (MSJ) and Midlight Jet (MLJ) are just "concepts," and not launched programs at this point, but it is expected both models will eventually go into production. A mockup of the MSJ was on display at last week's NBAA convention in Atlanta.
DELIVERY OF THE 5,000th CITATION was celebrated by Cessna and Rolls-Royce during a ceremony held at the NBAA convention in Atlanta. This milestone delivery was of a Rolls-Royce AE 3007-powered Citation X. The AE 3007C engine has surpassed two million flying hours on the more than 250 Citation X aircraft in service.
